Rotary engine.



N0. 642,!04. Patented Jan. 30, I900.

S. V. ESSICK.

ROTARY ENGINE.

(Application filed Sept. 27, 1898.)

\/ M a) 6 51W W4 76% Q val/7W uZZhwmm N0. 642,004. Patented Jan. 30, I900. S. V. ESSICK.

ROTARY ENGINE.

(Application filed Sept. 27, 1898.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

No. 642,!04. Patented Jan. 30, I900.

s. v. ESSICK.

ROTARY ENGINE.

(Application filed Sept. 27, 1898.) (N0 0 3 Sheets-Sheet a.

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W I clam/M STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL V. ESSIOK, OF YONKERS, NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JUSTUS E. EIVING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ROTARY ENGINE.

srncrrronrron forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,104, ease January so, 1906.

Application filed septeinher 27,1898. Serial No. 692,038. (No model.)

T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL V. ESSICK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rotary engines of that class in which the pistons act alternately as pistons and abutments and in which the pistons rotate alternately and progressively, a piston at one moment moving and acting as a piston, imparting motion to the shaft of the engine, and next acting as an abutment for another piston, which in turn moves and imparts its movement to the shaft.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and effective engine of this character; and to these ends it consists in the various features of construction and arrangement of parts having the general mode of operation substantially as hereinafter pointed out.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through an engine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4

is a detail view showing the means of operating the valves. Fig. 5 is a perspective View showing the valves in detail. Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective of the cylinder, and Figs. 7 and 8 show details.

5 Referring to the drawings, A A represent the supporting-frame of the engine, shown in the form of circular plates provided with feet a a, by which they may be mounted upon a support A These supports are shown in the present instance as provided with annular V- shaped recesses 0, a forming what may be termed the stationary members of clutch devices more specifically described hereinafter.

5 Mounted in the supports A A is a shaft B, and secured to this shaft are two disks B B and these disks, as shown, are also provided with annular V-shaped recesses I) Z), which serve as clutch members rigidly connected to and moving with the shaft 13. One of these disks, as B, may act as a pulley to transmit the motion of the shaft or may, as shown in Fig. 1, be provided with an annular extension 13 serving as a pulley, or any other means may be used in connection with the shaft to transmit the motion thereof.

Mounted upon the shaft B is a hollow casing 0, and this is shown as provided with a sleeve 0, by means of whichlit is loosely supported-011 the shaft. This casing O is provided with one or more internal projections O 0 which alternately act as pistons and abutments and which will be referred to hereinafter as the casing-pistons or casingabutments. This casing is closed at one end with a removable cover 0, and the casing serves to receive a cylinder D, having one or more extensions or projections D D which alternately operate as pistons or abutments and which will be referred to hereinafter as the cylinder-pistons or abutments. This cylinderD is provided with a sleeve D by means of which it is loosely mounted on the shaft B, this sleeve extending through the cover C of the casing. As this cylinder receives the steam in the manner hereinafter set forth it is desirable to provide suitable stuffing-boxes S S at the ends of the cylinder and sleeve, by means of which steam-tight joints can be made. So

In order to supply steam to the cylinderD in the present instance I have shown the shaft B as being hollow throughout a portion 13 and the shaft may be connected to any suitable source of steam-supply, and as it has to rotate it is desirable to provide a stuffing-box S therefor. The cylinder D is provided with a suitable steam-recess D extending on oppo site sides of the shaft and communicating with the shaft through suitable ports 5 Steam go from this recess or chamber D is controlled by suitable valves E and F, and these valves in the present instance are arranged not only to act as inlet but outlet valves, controlling the live as well as the exhaust steam from the 5 engine. As shown more particularly in Fig.

5, each valve consists of a body portion recessed at its sides, as at e, and this is mounted in a suitable valve-easing in the cylinder D and is provided with some suitable means for operating the same. In the present instance the cylinder is shown with two pistons and with a valve mounted in each piston and there is a steam-passage d, communicating between the recess D and the valves, and at each side are steam-passages d d 61 61 While beyond the valves are passages d al communicating with the passages (1 which in turn communicate with a curved recess a and exhaustpassage a in the support A. As a means of operating these valves I have shown the cylinder D (see more particularly Fig. 4) as recessed on one side, in which is mounted a gear E, engaging the pinions E F respectively, mounted on the valves E and F and operating the same in unison. In the present instance to operate these valves at the proper time this gear E is provided with suitable slots, in one of which a pin 0 engages, which pin is mounted in the cover 0 of the casing, while another pin 0 engages the other slot, and this is mounted in the cylinder D. This pin 0 controls the amount of movement imparted to the valves and limits their rocking motion, while the pin 0 moves in a somewhat longer slot and acts as a cut-off, controlling the movement of the valves, so as to allow the steam to work expansively.

It is evident that both the casing and the cylinder must be provided with some sort of clutch member cooperating with the stationary clutch members on the frame and the movable clutch members on the shaft, so that motion can be properly imparted to the latter, andI have shown a simple form of clutch member, comprising a disk, as G, rigidly mounted on the sleeve 0 or D and carrying shoes G, adapted to engage the respective V-shaped recesses in the disks B I? or supports A A and connected in such a manner, as by links G that-when the respective sleeve tends to rotate in one direction the shoes will engage a cooperating clutch member and when it rotates in the opposite direction it will be disengaged therefrom, and this is the preferred form of clutch,although it is evident that other forms may be used. Thus it will be seen that rigidly mounted on the sleeve 0 are two disks G G the shoes of which respectively cooperate with the V-shaped recesses 1) a and rigidly mounted on the sleeve D are the disks G G the shoes of which respectivelv cooperate with the V-shaped recesses a b and it is understood that these shoes are so arranged on each pair of disks that one will be in operative engagement with its respective recess when the sleeveis moved in one direction and the other when the sleeve is moved in the other direction, and thiswill be regulated as to whether the casing or the cylinder is respectively operating as a piston or an abutment.

Much difficulty has been found in properly packing engines of this class, and I overcome these objections by packing more fully illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive. The face of the cylinder D is recessed on each side of the exhaust-opening d and in each of these recesses I place a neatly-fitting packing-ring d al which may be either solid or in sections. If the rings arein sections, I close each joint by placing across it a segment about half the widthof said ring and about half the depth of the same to aid in making it steam tight. To pack the pistons D D I form depressions in each, preferably on each side, and in each depression I place a bar (1 one end of which, as 01 is beveled,while the other end, as (1 has an angular projection, and I also place in the side depressions similar bars CZ14 c1 similarly shaped, and which extend from the annular depressions in the side of said cylinder to the depressions in the peripheries of the pistons. This bar 01 may be made in two pieces, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and a short piece, as d about half the width and depth thereof, placed in a recess in the parts to complete the joint. I further provide a series of springs s beneath these bars, which tend to force them outward to form a close and accurate packing, and the beveled shape of the ends of the bars permits this to be done and still maintain a perfect steam-tight joint.

Referring to the valve, Fig. 5, it will be seen that it has a longitudinal projection 6 extending from one side, and the valve thus has practically two different diameters, the smaller portions fitting in the smaller recesses and the larger in the larger recesses in the pistons. (Shown best in Figs. 1 and 2.)

Such being the general construction of the engine its operation will largely be understood therefrom, and assuming the parts to be in the positions shown in Fig. 2 the steam will enter through the portion B of the shaft, pass into the recess D and thence through the opening d, through the Valve, and through the passages d d, impinging upon the pistons C 0 causing the casing to rotate, the pistons D D in this case acting as abutments. This will cause the disk G to force its respective shoes G to engagethe V-shaped recess 1) in the disk B and impart motion to the shaft B, and the reaction of the steam against the pistons D D which now act as abutments, will cause the disk G to force its shoes into engagement with the V-shaped recess a and prevent the retrograde movement of the cylinder D. At the same time the exhaust-steam will flow through the passages d d into the passages d and thence through the recess a to the exhaust-opening a. At the proper time the valves E and F will be shifted by the mechanism above described, and the pistons C 0 now reachingaposition adjacent the pistons D D, respectively, they become abutments, and the steam passing through the other sides of the valves tends to rotate the cylinder and its pistons and permit the exhauststeam to pass out, as before stated. It will thus be seen that with a single valve at each piston of the cylinder I can control both the live and exhaust steam, the passages connected with the valve in one instance acting as live-steam passages and in the other instance as exhaust-steam passages and doing this alternately as the respective pistons act as pistons or ab'utments in their step-by-step progressive movements.

From this it will be seen that my invention is simple in character of construction and operation and comprises, generally stated, a steam-tight casing provided with one or more internal projections alternately acting as pistons and abutments and a cylinder inclosed in said casing and having one or more projections alternately acting as pistons and abutments, a single valve device in connection with each projection on the cylinder alternately acting to control the live and exhaust steam, with suitable means for operating the valves at the proper time, and clutch membersconnected with the casing and cylinder and cooperating with the other clutch members on the frame and disks connected to the shaft, and these general features, as more particularly detailed above, arranged and operating as set forth, constitute the essential features of the engine.

IVhile I have illustrated and described a specific construction and arrangement of parts, it is evident that these may be varied in their details Without departing from the spirit of my invention, so that they will have the same general mode of operation and produce similar results. It is also evident that while I have described the engine as a steamengine other fluids may be used for actuating the same.

What I claim is 1. The combination in a rotary engine, of a casing having rigidly attached to its inner face one or more pistons, a cylinder inclosed within said casing carrying on its periphery one or more pistons, a valve device for each piston of the cylinder, and means for operating it whereby the valve alternately directs the motor iiuid on each side of the piston and simultaneously controls the exhaust motor fluid, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a rotary engine, of a shaft, a casing loosely mounted on the shaft and having rigidly attached to its inner face one or more pistons, a cylinder loosely mounted on the shaft and inclosed within the easing and having on its periphery one or more pistons, a valve for each piston 0f the cylinder, and means for operating the valve Whereby the valve controls the live and exhaust steam and directs it alternately in opposite directions, substantially as described.

3. The combination in a rotary engine, of a shaft, two disks rigidly attached to said shaft and forming clutch members, a casing loosely mounted on the shaft having one or more internally-projecting pistons, a sleevefor said casing, clutch devices mounted on the sleeve, a cylinder having a sleeve loosely mounted on the shaft and carrying one or more pistons, valves for the pistons controlling the live and exhaust steam, disks mounted on said sleeve, and clutch devices carried by the disks, substantially as described.

a. The combination in a rotary engine, of supports provided With recesses forming clutch members, ashaft havingdisks mounted thereon provided With recesses forming clutch members, a casing having a sleeve mounted on said shaft and provided with internally-projecting pistons, a cylinder having a sleeve mounted on'the shaft and provided with one or more pistons, valve devices for the pistons, means for controlling the valves, and disks mounted on both the sleeves and forming clutch members cooper ating With the clutch members of the frame and disks, substantially as described.

5. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having a piston, of a cylinder mounted therein and having a piston, a valve in said piston, and means for operating the valve, the valve being constructed and arranged snbstantiallyas described to direct live steam alternately to one side or the other of said piston and to exhaust the steam from the side opposite the piston from which the live steam passes, substantially as set forth.

6. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having inwardly-projecting pistons, of a cylinder mounted within the casing and provided With pistons on its periphery, and a single valve for each cylinder-piston alternately admitting live steam to first one side and then the other of the cylinder-piston and exhausting steam from the corresponding side, substantially as described.

7. In a rotary engine, the combination With a hollow shaft, of a casing carrying a piston mounted thereon, a cylinder carrying a piston mounted on the shaft and extending Within the casing, steam'passages from the hollow shaft to the cylinder, and a valve in the piston controlling the inlet and outlet steam-passages, substantially as described.

8. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing carrying two pistons, of a cylinder mounted therein and carrying two pistons, a valve in each of said cylinder-pistons adapt ed to control the admission and exhaust of the steam, a pinion on each valve, a gear meshing with said pinions, and means for actuating said gear to actuate the valves, sub stantially as described.

9. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having one or more internally-projecting pistons, of a cylinder having one or more radial pistons, a valve for each radial piston, and means for operating the valve, the construction of the valve being such that when turned in either direction the live steam passes out on one side of said piston and the exhaust enters from the other side, the pistons of the casing and cylinder acting alternately as pistons and abntments, substantially as described.

10. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having one or more internally projecting pistons, of a cylinder having one or more radial pistons, a valve for each radial piston,n1eans for operating the valve,the construction of the valve being such that when turned in either direction the live steam passes out on one side of said piston and the exhaust enters from the other side, the pistons of the casing and cylinder acting alternately as pistons and abutments, and clutch devices for alternately holding said casing and said cylinder while permitting the other to rotate, substantially as described.

11. The combination in a rotary engine of a casing having pistons, a cylinder having tember, 1898.

SAMUEL V. ESSICK. /Vitnessesz I-IoNoRA'ro COLETE, L. YZQIUERDO. 

